Ethical fashion is currently seen as a separate trend or style of fashion compared to
the mainstream fashion industry. Through research it was found that consumers
wouldn’t purchase ethical clothing, as they didn’t know enough about the topic to
commit to a purchase. On the other hand, sustainable living is something consumers
are aware of as they purchase energy saving light bulbs and recycle their tins and
plastic. Often ethical fashion and sustainable living are two separate issues yet in
some cases they overlap. Consumers need to be aware that they can do both without
changing their lifestyles completely.
Through lack of communication, ethical fashion has been separated and made into
a subculture of mainstream fashion. Consumers need to be informed that ethical
fashion and sustainable living isn’t a new direction but an add on to their daily
routine, it is a lifestyle rather than a trend.
To solve this issue a platform and online hub has been created: Trendition. A hybrid
word mixing several different words together: Trend, Transition and Rendition with
also a mix of tradition.
Martin Raymond (2009) defined a trend as the direction in which something tends
to move, which may have consequential impact on society, culture or the business
sector in the way it moves through. Rendition as defined by the Oxford Dictionary
(2010) is often a visual representation or reproduction that can be seen as interpretive
whereas Transition is the meaning of a process or period of change from one state
or condition to another. An example of this would be “The world is in an economic
transition at the moment.” All these words linked together have the meaning of
moving forward, dealing with consequences of the future and solving them.

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Trendition is a transition into the future, a bridge between the retailer and consumer.
An online creation for consumers who love fashion but who, at the same time are
becoming more aware of what is going on in the industry. The site will cover ethical
fashion and sustainable living in a new light: promoting and informing in
an innovative, fashion forward direction.
The aim of the brand is to encourage consumers to visit the site to inform them on
ways to live and dress more sustainably through photography, film, interviews,
reports, events and features.
There are sites already out there that cover the topic yet these are dull, boring and
monotonous attaching a negative stigma to ethical fashion/sustainable living. These
competing websites are not yet mainstream and therefore only target a select group
of individuals already aware of the topic. Trendition aims to be contemporary,
bringing a fresh direction to ethical and sustainability ahead of existing competitors.

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Trendition is a way of the future, a creative hub that inspires and informs consumers
in an innovative and minimal way. The site is aimed at conscious consumers yet will
be welcomed within the mainstream due to itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fashion forward direction.
The core of the brand will be ethical fashion and sustainable lifestyle, yet this will not
be constantly reminded to the consumers as it was found through research that this
discourages consumers. It will be a site that people talk about amongst friends with
links to social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook as well as inspiration
sites such as Pinterest and Fancy.com.
The site will be constantly updated on a weekly basis with news stories; fashion
features and trend reports, all of this will be available to subscribers. To be a part
of Trendition the consumer must sign up to the mailing list; there are different
stages of subscription. The lowest stage will be free which will make only certain
reports and news stories available, this gives readers the opportunity of a taster
before fully committing.

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There are three separate paid subscription levels; each level is named after a specific
inspiration for Trendition. The first level is Trend; this allows full access to the
website. The second level is Rendition; this includes full access to the website and a
one off book. The book acts as a handbook featuring case studies, scenario planning,
trend predictions and interviews. The final level of subscription is Transition; this
includes full access to the site, the one off book and the opportunity to attend two
event conferences a year held by Trendition. The events will feature industry experts,
consumers, retailers and media. The idea of the event is to socialise and communicate
with people in the same area of interest, aiming to help ethical fashion become more
mainstream. All paid memberships will also receive report packs twice a year which
will include trend prediction cards, one report, two interviews – one fashion, one
lifestyle and a newsletter.
Scenario planning is about anticipating how the new and the next might impact on
how we live our lives tomorrow. Scenario planners are open to accept that there are
a variety of futures and the best way to deal with this is to envisage them all. Architect
Vincent Callebaut has taken this theory by creating projects such as the “Lilypad”
and “Physalis” both are practical yet beautiful, dreamlike designs. These are solutions
for solving climate change in a visionary way; think the unthinkable. Creating
scenarios and case studies helps consumers to relate to situations as well as apply
them to their own lifestyles. Some of the featured scenarios may not be realistic to
the current climate yet this adds imagination and innovation to the situation, creating
a fun side to ethical and sustainability.

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Trendition will feature a broad range of designers/brands/retailers to make consumers
aware of fashion that already exists from all around the world; this will include
catwalk designers, campaigners from Greenpeace and high street stores. Trends will
be predicted; these are not specific for ‘ethical living’ but they will be shown how to
adopt within the new lifestyle rather than the typical ‘natural living’ and ‘green’.
The site is about enlightening consumers on a new way of living, protecting the world
and themselves. Showing lifestyle in a new positive light without a huge commitment.
The story behind the garment needs to as beautiful as the design; Trendition provides
consumers with clarity, more information along with confidence that fashion can be
ethical and sustainable.
All of the features on the site are taken with consideration, which must accompany
and believe all of the brand guidelines. The mission is to provide information, fashion
and lifestyle in a completely conscious way. Trendition is one step ahead; a glimpse
into the future and with the information provided the consumer can take a leap into
this lifestyle provided.
In 2013, join the journey of a transition into the future.